How are you tieing down your car in your enclosed trailer

Whether the vehicle tie downs are crossed or uncrossed doesn’t matter when it comes to load shifting.. If one side breaks, the other side can become slack. It’s just which way that changes.

I like crossed since there’s less loading per unit length of strap/chain than with uncrossed. A longer strap experiences less strain per inch than a shorter one. Crossed straps are inherently longer and therefore experience less load per length.

That said, they can stretch more too...which is why if they are straps rather than chains, they need to be checked for correct tension frequently while traveling to make sure they haven’t stretched and become loose.

Here's the thing.......I've had guys even claim that "it's the law" (to cross ties) and I've never seen anything says so.

If you strap/ bind them inline or close to that front to rear, and either front or either rear comes loose, then the other three will hold things tight It cannot move front to rear, and with relatively short chains, there's not enough radius for it to walk one way or other

But if you cross them, as on the rear, and one rear comes loose/ breaks, not only can the car walk sideways, but there's enough radius if that's the word---to allow the strap/ chain to "swing" and allow the fronts to walk the car forward or backwards. This happened to a friend of mine, and while it did not do a LOT of damage, it did damage the car as it hit the fenders on the trailer.